By Donald Morton | North Frontenac News Media – NFNM | November 19, 2025
North Frontenac Council meets Friday, November 21 at 9:00 a.m. in Council Chambers, with a Special Meeting at 1:00 p.m. It’s a heavy agenda: high-speed rail, conservation authorities, the Strategic Plan update, the Palmerston co-op decision, blue box changes, and a push to extend maintenance on East Bay Road.
This is one of those meetings that sets direction for years, not weeks.
High-speed rail: federal project, local impact
ALTO: High Speed Rail, a federal Crown corporation, is coming to present its Toronto–Québec City plan. They are promoting 300 km/h electric trains on a new corridor, with promises of faster trips, higher GDP and new development around stations.
North Frontenac will not get a station, but we sit in the influence zone. Once senior governments commit billions to this corridor, it shapes how they treat highways, tourism traffic and rural land around it.
What to watch: Whether any member of Council presses ALTO on expropriation risk, corridor routing, and concrete benefits for rural municipalities, or if the presentation passes without real questions.
Strategic Plan 2024–2028: mid-term check-in
CAO Corey Klatt will present the 2025 update on the 2024–2028 Strategic Plan. The pillars are familiar: community, economy, core services and environment. The update reports progress on doctor recruitment, hospital donations, recreation projects, tourism work, asset management planning, and early moves on natural heritage and septic policies.
For residents, this is the Township grading its own report card.
What to watch: Do councillors test those claims against reality on the ground, or accept the update as written. This is the time to ask where commitments are slipping, not to celebrate slogans.
Conservation authorities and Bill 68: money and control
Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA) General Manager Sally McIntyre will brief Council on the Province’s Bill 68 changes, including a proposed St. Lawrence Regional Conservation Authority and a new provincial Conservation Authority Agency.
The draft resolution before Council says clearly that North Frontenac does not support this model. It raises three core objections: municipal taxpayers already carry most of the cost for local dams and conservation areas; a huge regional authority weakens local representation; and a new provincial Agency with fee-setting power is another cost downloaded from Queen’s Park.
What to watch: Whether Council adopts a firm, unambiguous position, and whether anyone tries to soften the language. This resolution will be used by the Province to gauge how much resistance exists in rural Eastern Ontario. NFNM will be covering this more in the near future.
Palmerston co-op at Lafolia Lane: final call
The Ompah Palmerston Cottage Co-operative at on Lafolia Lane is back for what amounts to a final decision.
County planners recommend Council support an Official Plan Amendment to create “Rural Cooperative Area 1,” approve the Development Plan, and pass a site-specific Zoning By-law for “Rural Cooperative Exception 1,” covering seven co-op cottages with individual septics and shared amenities. Environmental consultants say the revised layout reduces waterfront impact by pulling back some structures and docks and shifting one cottage.
If Council passes both by-laws, the planning framework on that property is locked in. Any future owner inherits the same permissions.
What to watch: How each councillor explains their vote. Residents deserve clear reasons, not vague comments about “supporting families” on one side or “concerns” on the other. This has been one of the most contested files of the term; it should end with clear positions on the record.
Blue box transition: IC&I left out
Public Works will present options for handling non-eligible blue box material once producer responsibility kicks in on January 1, 2026. Residential blue box material will be handled by the producer system. Industrial, Commercial and Institutional (IC&I) recycling will not.
Staff recommend continuing to accept blue box material from businesses and institutions at all six waste sites, with no extra service fee for at least one year, and reporting back after monitoring usage and cost. The Township’s existing free-tag incentive for household recycling would stay in place.
There is also a related closed-session item on the agreement with the producer organization. That is where the detailed terms will be discussed.
What to watch: Whether Council backs the one-year support for IC&I recycling and commits to transparent reporting on the cost, and whether any information from the closed-session deal is later shared in plain language with the public.
East Bay Road: extending year-round maintenance
Council will decide whether to extend year-round maintenance on East Bay Road by 900 metres, from Butterball Lane to Thacker Lane.
At the moment, the Township maintains 1.38 km of East Bay Road. Thacker Lane is about 0.9 km beyond that point. Owners on Thacker Lane are paying to maintain both that section of East Bay Road and their own lane. Staff confirm roughly fifty properties lie beyond Butterball Lane and warn that approving this extension will likely trigger more requests from farther along the road.
By-law 123-13 gives Council discretion; there is no automatic obligation to extend maintenance. This is a policy choice.
What to watch: How councillors balance fairness to existing residents beyond the maintenance line against long-term costs and precedent. However they vote, they should be able to explain the principle behind their decision.
Smaller files worth noting
There are a few quieter items that still matter.
Council is expected to move ahead with closing a piece of road allowance for transfer to the County for the K&P Trail, another link in a long-term trail network. A new Secretary-Treasurer for the Committee of Adjustment/Planning Advisory Committee will be appointed, tightening up planning administration. The Land O’ Lakes Garden Club is asking support for its 3rd Annual “Pitch In for Mother Earth” litter pick-up day in April 2026, including use of Barrie Hall and a waste bin.
Public forum and next steps
There is a Public Forum before Council goes into closed session. That is the only guaranteed chance for residents to get concerns on the record about the Palmerston co-op, East Bay Road, blue box changes, conservation authority reform, or anything else on the agenda.
NFNM will follow up with separate pieces on three fronts: the Palmerston co-op vote, the conservation authority resolution under Bill 68, and the blue box transition.
